On June 13, 2021, the CO2 Act, which terre des hommes schweiz supports in the Swiss Climate Alliance, will be put to the ballot box. With the Federal Act on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Switzerland can play a pioneering role in international climate justice. After all, the consequences of climate change are also clearly felt by young people in our projects in the global South.
Many of our project partners live and work in areas that are highly sensitive to global warming and environmental change. Many of the young people we work for and with have long been affected by this. In north-eastern Brazil, where we help young people to build a livelihood in agriculture, 2015 saw the worst drought in 80 years. In the Sahrawi refugee camps in the Algerian desert, where people have been waiting 45 years for a solution to the conflict over the occupied Western Sahara, the temperature rises to 50 degrees in summer.
Consequences of climate change in Mozambique
In Mozambique, several cyclones in 2019 destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of people in the area where our partner organizations work. In January 2021, a tropical cyclone destroyed homes, schools and hospitals in the province of Sofala near the port metropolis of Beira and the hinterland and ruined harvests. Thousands of families are homeless as a result and need emergency aid.
Sensible measures
Climate change is a global challenge and requires global solutions. Switzerland must also make its contribution with efficient measures. The comprehensive CO2 Act, which will be put to the vote on June 13, 2021, is a step in the right direction. For example, it aims to promote climate-friendly building heating systems and renovations and introduce air ticket levies, half of which will flow into a climate fund and half of which will be redistributed. This climate fund will also be used to promote the development and use of climate-friendly technologies.
National and international climate justice
The Federal Council, Parliament and various organizations from the private sector as well as environmental protection and development cooperation stand behind the law. It paves the way for much more effective climate protection measures from 2022 onwards. It is imperative that good climate policy is implemented quickly in order to safeguard the basis of life for future generations. The law takes the polluter-pays principle seriously and ensures social balance by redistributing a large proportion of the revenue from the levies to the population. It contributes to climate justice – both nationally and internationally. Switzerland is an international role model. We are one of the few countries in which the population can decide on the scope of climate protection in a referendum in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
As a member of the Climate Alliance, an association of over 90 organizations, we support the new CO2 Act.
Read more
https://www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/was-wir-tun/positionen/klimagerechtigkeit/
